The football was launched high in the air on the last play of the game on a crisp, cool night at Bomber Stadium.
Game photos click here.
The football was launched high in the air on the last play of the game on a crisp, cool night at Bomber Stadium.
The scoreboard flashed zero. Bombers Stadium momentarily went silent.
“How will it end, who will win?”
That was the thought that entered the players, coaches and fans’ minds of both the Kenston Bombers and Riverside Beavers Football Teams as their game on Oct. 10 was reaching its final conclusion.
Trailing 32-31, Beavers Quarterback Bo Bradenhoff launched a “Hail Mary” pass from the 46-yard line toward the Bombers endzone.
Beavers receiver David Seibert who was heavily covered down field by multiple Bombers, leaped high in the air at around the Bombers 7-yard line.
As the football fell out of the sky, the football passed just inches from the closest Bomber defender’s fingers.
The football then ricocheted off of Seibert toward the goal line.
Seibert miraculously hauled in the “Hail Mary” pass at the 5-yard line while moving toward the endzone.
Luckily for the Bombers, senior A.J. Giancola was trailing behind and as Seibert caught the ball the two players stood face to face only a foot away from each other. At that point, Seibert tried to run toward the end zone but Giancola was there to save the game and tackle Seibert two yards away from scoring the game winning touchdown.
It was jubilation as the Bombers defeated the Western Reserve Conference leaders, 32-31.
What an unbelievable ending, what an amazing game!
Throughout the contest, the Bombers showed their grit and resilience as they did not give up.
After trailing 17-3, junior quarterback Adam Barr entered the game for the Bombers in the second quarter.
Barr said that when he came into the game he wanted to provide energy to his team.
Barr rallied the Bombers as he drove his team down the field for a touchdown before halftime.
Junior running back Will Hamm’s 1-yard touchdown run and extra point by Grady Kucharson made the score 17-10 heading into halftime.
During halftime, Barr said that Bombers Head Coach Jeff Grubich’s main message was to keep fighting and to not give up.
Heeding those words, Barr then led the Bombers to a game-tying touchdown with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
The Bombers tied the game at 17-17 when Tucker Meeks scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Grady Kucharson added his second straight extra point.
But as soon as the Bombers tied the game at 17-17, the Beavers wasted no time by putting 14 points back on the scoreboard as they took a 31-17 lead with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
But the Bombers continued to fight back behind the leadership of quarterback Adam Barr.
Barr described his mindset after the Beavers took a 31-17 lead.
“This ain’t over, this ain’t over, and there is nothing they can do to stop our momentum from scoring and getting into that endzone,” said Barr. “I told everybody in that huddle right before we went out for that drive to score a touchdown, I was like, ‘boys this is where we have to get it and we have to get it right here. There are no exceptions, no excuses. We just need to put it all on the line and we need to trust the coaching.”
Barr then drove his team down the field and got the Bombers back to within seven points with 7:37 left in the game when he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior Max George. After Kucharson converted the extra point attempt, the Bombers trailed by seven points, 31-24.
George said that he utilized a double move to get open for the touchdown catch.
Then with the game on the line, Barr drove the Bombers down the field for a touchdown with only 21 seconds left when he again found George open in the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“That final drive was put together on dreams and wishes and a little bit of duct tape, I am going to be honest,” Barr said.
Down by 1 point with 21 seconds left in the game, Bombers Head Coach Jeff Grubich made the decision to go for two and the victory with the game on the line.
Grubich said the coaching staff had made the decision to go for two before they had got the ball back for the final touchdown drive.
“We said, if we punch this in, we’re going to have a two point play ready to win the game,” Coach Grubich said. “It was a great job by our offensive coaches having that plan ready to execute. (We) called that time out, got the play that we wanted. Credit goes to the coaches and kids. They went out there and executed it clean. Proud of those guys.”
Will Hamm’s 2-point conversion with 21 seconds left put the Bombers up by one at 32-31.
The Bombers victory over the Beavers was reminiscent of the game between these two teams, just two years ago. In a similar situation with the game on the line on Oct. 6, 2023, the Bombers also defeated the Beavers on a game winning 2-point conversion.
For the game, the Bombers were led offensively through the air by Barr who was 13 of 15 for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Catching 9 of Barr’s 13 completions was George who accumulated 107 yards receiving (11.7 yards per catch average) and two touchdowns.
Leading the Bombers ground game was Hamm who ran for 102 yards on 25 carries. Also, Meeks gained 43 yards rushing on 8 carries.
The Bombers are now in a 4-way tie for first place in the WRC with Mayfield, Riverside, and South.
The Bombers will next travel to Mayfield to take on the Wildcats on Oct. 17.
